When we look around at the world, we see so much fighting, war, and conflict. We need peace! After surviving a bruising political race and election, we still see unrest and protests. We pray for peace. We long for peace and harmony in our homes and families, as well as personal peace, spiritual peace—peace of mind. It is God’s desire for us to experience peace, peace that goes beyond the understanding of this world and beyond outside circumstances. God’s peace is transcendant. It lives within and prevails regardless of what is happening around us. The only way this peace is possible is through surrender to Jesus Christ. As long as we keep God at a distance and refuse His plan and purpose, peace will be out of our grasp. But in full surrender to His will we can find true peace.

Scriptures
Phil 4:7; 2 Tim 1:7; Luke 1:26-38; Isa 55:8-9; Jer 29:11

Verse
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:7) Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. (Lk 1:38)

Thought
We fear God’s plans because they are often inconvenient interruptions. When the angel appeared to Mary with the news that she would give birth to God’s son, her life was turned upside down. She had to explain the unexplainable to her fiancé Joseph and pray he would believe her. Without his support she was facing certain death for becoming pregnant outside marriage. She was planning her future with Joseph, looking forward to their wedding and to the home they would make together when her plan was upstaged by God’s purpose. On the outside the news was devastating. Everything changed in a moment. However, Mary saw this inconvenience, this disruption of her plans as an invitation from God to something higher and greater than she could have imagined. She chose to surrender to His will, and her words in Luke 1:38 say it all. “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” If we can rise above our human plans and trust God’s plan, we can have peace in our lives—peace of mind.

Questions
Has your peace ever been disrupted by the nagging feeling of something you should do? Was it God? Are you ever afraid of what God might ask you to do? Has there ever been anything you’ve prayed God would not ask you to do? How has something God asked you to do been an inconvenience? What was your reaction? How have your plans been changed because of God’s plan? Did God’s interruption prove to be a blessing? How does surrender to God’s plan bring peace?

Response
The next time your life is interrupted or you are inconvenienced, look for God’s plan in the midst of the chaos. When your plans are thwarted by unexpected circumstances, ask God to help you find peace of mind and trust his guidance. Look for God’s invitation to something higher and greater than you imagined or planned.

Prayer
Dear God, I pray for peace in our world, in our country, in our homes and in our families. I thank you that I can have peace within because of Jesus even when everything around me is unsettled. Thank you for sending love and peace into my life through the gift of Jesus Christ. Help me to share His love and be a messenger of His peace to those around me. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.